A New Friend
by elhalfling
Summary: Legolas first meets Elladan and Elrohir when he comes to Rivendell. They are all about seven or eight years of age.


Title: A New Friend (for CoE, by silvanelfprincess)

Characters: Other, Legolas

Rating: PG

Genre: Drama

Summary: By playing a trick on Lord Erestor, the twins find a new friend that they never thought was possible. Other characters include: Celebrían, Elrond, Glorfindel, Erestor, Arwen and a few others.

p "Do you suppose Ada and Ammë would have missed us while we were gone?" Elrohir asked his brother as they approached the Main Hall in Rivendell.

"No," said Elladan. "I don't think they would have missed us that much. We were-" He was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Elladan! Elrohir!" the voice snapped sharply. The twins looked up to see Lord Erestor standing above them. "Where have you two been?"

"Not missed, indeed." Elrohir muttered under his breath to his brother, hoping that Erestor would not hear him.

"I heard that, Elrohir!" snapped Erestor. "Your father has been looking for you. I suggest that you get yourselves over to the council room and report to him at once!" Lord Erestor gave the twins a shove towards the council room and huffed off to sulk.

"I told you that we've been missed!" said Elrohir as they walked over to the council room. He was cross with his brother.

"Did not!" Elladan, though he knew that his brother was right, decided to argue anyways.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!" Because they were busy arguing with each other, neither twin realized the door open behind them.

"Alright!" said a voice. "I have heard enough of this!" The twins turned around to find the owner of the voice was Elrond himself.

"Ada!" cried Elladan. "We went to Lothlórien, and we lost track of time."

"And we went to Mirkwood, but it was very boring there," added Elrohir.

"And I hope that you two weren't constantly arguing at Thranduil's," said Elrond strictly. He and Celebrían had insisted on the boys having proper manners whenever they went anywhere, especially to Mirkwood.

"Only a little, Ada," Elrohir admitted. "At least Legolas wasn't there to tease us."

"Yeah, that would have only made things worse," added Elladan dryly. "Like he always does."

"I don't think that you'd want to be saying that if you knew who was here," warned Elrond, glaring slightly at Elladan. Elrohir nudged his brother in the ribs and pointed over to where Legolas was standing across the hall.

"Look," said Elrohir. "It's Legolas." Elladan groaned and Elrohir rolled his eyes. Neither one said anything more, but as Legolas started walking towards them, they took off running in the opposite direction, not stopping until they were safe in their room-with the door locked.

center /center 

About ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Elladan opened it to find their father standing in the doorway. He looked neither pleased nor upset, just like he usually did when he wanted to talk to the twins.

"I knew I would find you here," he said, coming into the room and sitting down on the chair between the two beds. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, Ada," said Elrohir without looking up. He was sitting on his bed, like Elladan was.

"It wasn't very nice how you treated Legolas earlier today." Elrond began, but failed to continue before Elladan interrupted him.

"But he's not nice to me and Ro!" he blurted out before Elrohir could stop him. Elrond chuckled softly and ruffled his oldest son's hair. He thought back to when he and Elros had done the same thing to Thranduil at Elf Scouts.

"He may be mean or rude to you, but you still need to be nice to him," explained Elrond, smiling at the twins. "Remember what you learned in Elf Scouts." The twins were also in Elf Scouts, and so was Legolas.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Elladan. "We know."

"Always be nice and kind to each other and the things that you find in nature," chimed in Elrohir.

"But Ada!" said Elladan.

"No 'but Adas', Elladan. I want you and Elrohir to be nice to him. He's our guest, and we need to at least show him some respect," said Elrond firmly, but he was trying not to laugh. He knew that the boys got along about as well with Legolas as he did with Thranduil. He smiled at the boys, but his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Who is it?" he asked, standing up to answer the door.

"It's Glorfindel," said the voice. Elrond opened the door to find the blond-haired Elf standing in the doorway.

"What is it?" sighed Elrond. "If it has little importance, then it can wait. I am talking to the twins about something important." He had lowered his voice to a whisper, so that the Elflings would not be able to hear him.

"Lord Erestor needs to talk to you in private," replied Glorfindel. "I can keep an eye on the twins until Celebrían gets back." Elrond's wife, Celebrían, was taking care of Arwen and teaching her how to read and write.

"Alright," replied Elrond. He sighed, for he knew that the Elflings had a lot of respect for Glorfindel, but showed almost none.

"Do you mind if I bring a guest?" asked Glorfindel.

"Who exactly do you have in mind?" asked Elrond. He was beginning to get suspicious about everything, especially because his advisor, Erestor, rarely asked to meet with him. Nonetheless, he agreed, and left to meet with Erestor, the twins now in the care of Glorfindel until either he or Celebrían got back.

center /center 

"Who is this guest?" asked Elrohir right after Elrond had left. He was beginning to get more and more curious with each passing minute.

Glorfindel opened the door to reveal the Elf. "It is Legolas," he said as he let Legolas into the room, much to the horror of the twins.

"But-" Elrohir protested. He was stopped by Elladan, who quickly put his hand over his brother's mouth.

"Suilad," said Legolas with a smile. He was somewhat shy, but greeted everyone with a smile, just as Thranduil and Laurelin had taught him to do.

"Now, I will be leaving you three to get to know each other for a little while. If you really need me, I will be in the corner," said Glorfindel. Leaving Legolas with the twins, he walked over to the opposite corner of the room and sat down before the twins could protest.

"What do you do here in Imladris?" asked Legolas after a long silence. He was curious about everything in Rivendell, and asked the twins many questions.

"There's the library that we read books in," said Elladan. "But books are boring."

"Especially the ones that Glorfy reads to us," put in Elrohir. "Or the ones that he makes us read." He, like his brother, did not care much for school lessons, and only took them because Ada and Ammë insisted.

"Okay," said Legolas, still unsure of the twins. "What else do you do here?"

"We make music!" said Elladan.

"With our flutes!" chimed in Elrohir.

"I can play louder than you can, Ro!"

"Cannot!"

"Can too!"

"Cannot!"

"Can too!"

"Stop!" said Legolas. The twins stopped fighting, surprised to see someone other than Ada or Ammë talk to them like that. "What else do you do here? Are there any gardens?"

"We have gardens!" said Elrohir. "Lots of them! And we practice archery for Elf Scouts." At this statement, Legolas's eyes grew wide, for he, too, was learning how to shoot an arrow for Elf Scouts.

"And I'm better than Ro is!" Unsurprisingly, this comment came from Elladan. The twins were constantly competing with each other, something that Glorfindel enjoyed. He knew that if the twins worked together, they could probably outsmart him, and that wouldn't be any good for him.

"We will see who is better," said Legolas. "Let's go outside to the targets." Elladan and Elrohir grinned at each other, and Elrohir smiled slightly at Legolas as they followed Elladan outside. Glorfindel followed closely behind the Elflings.

Elladan grabbed three bows and his brother grabbed some arrows on their way out to the target area. i Maybe Legolas is not so bad after all, /i thought Elrohir to himself. He thought that Ada and Ammë would be proud of him for giving the younger Elfling a chance.

"You go first, Elrohir," said Legolas when they had gotten outside. Elladan handed his brother a bow. Elrohir picked up an arrow, fitted it in the string very carefully, and released the arrow, just narrowly missing the target.

"Wow!" exclaimed Legolas in awe of the younger of the twins. "I learned to shoot an arrow in Elf Scouts, but I doubt that I could do that well."

"Wait until you see Elladan." Elrohir replied. "He's a lot better than I am." He had moved aside so that his brother could have his turn. Like Elrohir, he fitted the arrow and sent it whizzing through the air, hitting the center of the target.

"Wow!" Except for that word, no other words came out of Legolas's mouth; he was speechless. There was a long silence before he spoke again. "May I try?" he asked.

"Sure," said Elladan, handing the younger Elf a bow and an arrow. Legolas very carefully fitted the arrow and released it. It missed the center, but it still hit the target.

"Very good, Legolas. You have learned a lot in Elf Scouts, I see," said Elrohir. He whispered something in Elladan's ear and they both nodded.

The twins, both pleased with the result of their idea, resolved to follow through with it as soon as they could. If they did, then Erestor would be sorry. Although he was their father's advisor, and they both showed respect for their father, neither twin cared much for Erestor. Elrohir told Legolas what they were planning to do.

"Good idea," said Legolas in a quiet voice. "Are you sure that your Adar and Naneth will approve?"

The twins looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "Do not worry about that," said a voice that clearly did not belong to either twin. All three Elflings turned to find Glorfindel. "Erestor needs just that. I think it might teach him a good lesson." The twins knew that Glorfindel did not really like Erestor at all. They laughed, and were joined by Legolas. It was turning out to be not such a bad day after all.

"Glorfy," said Elrohir, whispering in Glorfindel's ear. "Will you help us?" The older, Elf, though still quite young, by all means, smiled and nodded.

"Here's the plan…" Elladan explained how they would do it. Elrohir, questioning his brother's reasoning, like he often did, raised his eyebrow at his brother, like their father did to them.

"How are we going to do it without him knowing?" asked Legolas. He had already decided to be practical about this. After all, what was a great idea without an even better plan to keep it a secret?

"Leave that part to Glorfy," whispered Elrohir. "Just don't let Arwen know."

"Yeah, cause she would tell Erestor for sure." Elladan added. "Ever since he's arrived, she's had a soft spot for Ada's advisor." He and Elrohir exchanged glances.

"He's too old for her," said Elrohir. 'But Legolas is hardly younger than her." He and Elladan started laughing. Legolas scowled, but then he joined in their laughter.

"Alright, you two!" scolded Glorfindel. Even though he didn't like Erestor, Elrond had insisted that he was strict with the twins about respect.

"So, when should we do the plan?" Legolas asked Elrohir, but it was not Elrohir who answered.

"Tomorrow." Elladan answered for his brother. "Erestor is cleaning the floor today, so tomorrow will be the perfect time to do it."

"Glorfindel!" a voice called. Celebrían appeared with Arwen. "I am done inside, so I can watch the twins now, if you want," she said.

"Thanks," he said, letting out a sigh. He winked at the boys.

"Were the boys any trouble?" asked Celebrían. "I know they can be quite a bit to handle sometimes, and I hope they weren't too much for you."

Glorfindel shook his head. "No, it's not that…" His voice trailed off, as it would when he was thinking about something else.

"Ah, I understand," said Celebrían. She patted Glorfindel on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's Erestor again, isn't it?" She motioned for the twins to take Arwen and Legolas inside.

He nodded as he blinked back the tears. "Yes," he said gravely. "It is."

"Yes," she said. "That is what I thought." She reminded Glorfindel of Lady Galadriel, her mother. "But Elrond seems to enjoy his presence, and that is a good thing." Ever since Gil-galad had died, Elrond had not had a close Elf-friend, except for Celebrían, and, of course, Glorfindel.

"At least someone understands," said Glorfindel after a long silence.

"I do not think that Erestor will take your place," said Celebrían softly. "No one can take anybody else's place, and no one will." She patted Glorfindel on the shoulder once again, and left the practice area, leaving Glorfindel alone with his thoughts.

center /center 

It was after dinner that night, and Elrond was making sure that Elladan and Elrohir were getting ready for bed. Glorfindel was doing the same for Legolas, and Celebrían was putting Arwen to bed.

"Ada," began Elladan. "Tell us a story." He was already in bed, the quicker of the twins to get ready for bed in the evenings.

"About you!" chimed in Elrohir. He had just finished brushing his teeth.

"Alright, I don't suppose a little story will hurt." Elrond patted both boys on the head, and then sat down on the chair between the beds. i What story could you tell them? /i he thought to himself. i Most certainly not the one about the ring. Perhaps one of the stories about you when you were their age would interest them. /i There was a knock at the door, interrupting his thoughts. Elrond stood up and answered it. It was Celebrían, who had just finished putting Arwen to bed, and had now come to check on her husband.

"Am I interrupting anything important?" she asked, coming into the room.

"No," replied Elrond. "I was just trying to figure out which bed time story to tell the twins. They want to hear a story, and I don't know which one to tell them."

"Tell them the one about when we went to Lothlórien for a family vacation. That might be a good one." Celebrían suggested as she took her husband's hand into her own and squeezed it slightly.

"No, I don't think that story will be a good one for the twins right now," said Elrond, remembering what had happened. A simple invitation from Celeborn and Galadriel had turned out to be a complete disaster.

"I really don't want you telling them anything that might scare them," said Celebrían. "They do have to sleep, you know."

"How about if I told them how we met each other?" said Elrond, lowering his already quiet voice down to a whisper, hoping that Elladan and Elrohir could not hear him. Celebrían nodded and smiled, blinking back tears of joy.

"Ada," began Elladan. "What story are you going to tell me and Ro?"

"Or is Ammë going to?" added Elrohir. "I like Ammë's stories. They make more sense."

"Ada is going to tell the story," said Celebrían, smiling. "And I will help him if he needs it."

Elrond started his story. "It was the beginning of the Third Age. Gil-galad and Elendil had just overthrown Sauron, but both of them had died. I had come back here, to Imladris, for a while, but I figured that I could stay here no longer at the time, for the place was filled with too many memories. Celeborn and Galadriel had been constantly inviting me to visit them in Lothlórien for quite some time by then, but I had always been too busy to go.

"Well, I decided to visit them, so I packed up a couple of my things and headed off to Lothlórien. It was a long journey, and it must have taken well over a fortnight. I took the infamous Redhorn Pass, otherwise known as Caradhras." At this statement, Elrohir hid his face under his blanket and Elladan shivered. Celebrían signaled to her husband, trying to prevent him from going into detail. Elrond continued, taking no notice of his wife.

"It was very cold and snowy in the Misty Mountains. Snow and ice were everywhere! It made me very tired, and I had to stop in Mirkwood to rest. Thranduil welcomed me fairly warmly, and asked me where I was going.

"'Lothlórien was where I am headed,' I said. ' But I got caught in a bad snow storm atop Caradhras.' Thranduil and I talked for the longest time, and he introduced me to his wife, Laurelin.

"'Elrond, when are you going to get married?' he asked me. 'I am younger than you are, and I've already gotten married.'

"'I am only a few years older, Thranduil,' I replied. We had been friends since Elf Scouts when we were young, but he was always teasing me, and I did not like it. Well, I stayed there for a couple of days, and then I headed south to Lothlórien, carefully avoiding southern Mirkwood.

"As soon as I arrived in Lothlórien, Celeborn and Galadriel greeted me warmly, and I greeted them. All around us were the most beautiful trees ever! Lothlórien is such a beautiful place in the spring."

"What happened next, Ada?" asked Elladan. Elrohir had pulled his head out from underneath the covers with a little coaxing from Celebrían.

"Well, Celeborn and Galadriel asked me how Elf Scouts was going, and I told them that I had just finished. I asked them how they were, and Celeborn gave a detailed account of life in Lothlórien. We exchanged small talk about such things as the weather, recent events and many other things.

"'Elrond,' said Celeborn softly after a long silence. He and I had been friends since the beginning of the Second Age, or perhaps even longer. He had always been the quieter type. 'Galadriel and I would like you to meet our daughter, Celebrían.' At that moment, I saw a fair Elf, almost as fair as Lady Galadriel. She was dressed in a light blue gown, which was the same color as her eyes. As I looked into her eyes, I knew that this Elf maiden was the one that I wanted to marry." He paused and smiled at Celebrían, but did not continue his story for about a minute or two.

"Well, Celeborn and Galadriel gave their consent, so I married your mother about a month later, and we went back to Rivendell," said Elrond, smiling.

"Is that the end to your story?" asked Elrohir. He yawned. "What about us? Aren't you going to…" He never finished his question because he fell asleep before he could finish asking it.

"I think it's time for bed, Elladan. Your brother already fell asleep," said Celebrían to their oldest son.

"But Ammë!" Elladan protested. "I'm not sleepy!" It was no use. Celebrían kissed him on the forehead and pulled the covers up to the Elfling's chin.

"Yes you are, and tomorrow is a busy day," she said. "You need your sleep." Elladan yawned and nodded sleepily. He closed his eyes and had fallen asleep before he had even realized it. As soon as the twins were asleep, Elrond and Celebrían tiptoed softly out of the room, closing the door behind them. They retired to their room for a while to talk.

center /center 

It was early the next morning, and the twins found that, much to their relief, Erestor had cleaned the Great Hall. The whole room, especially the floor, sparkled in the early morning sunlight. Legolas was standing next to Elrohir, holding a huge bucket of mud. Glorfindel was hiding, and keeping watch in case Erestor would come. Glorfindel gave the signal, and the three Elflings worked quickly to spread the mud all over the floor. In less than three minutes, they were done. The Great Hall was a mess! Mud was everywhere, and Elladan had even moved the furniture around. They retreated silently to a special hiding place, the closet that Elrond stored all the musical instruments in when they were not being used.

"Do you think that Erestor will be mad at us?" asked Legolas. Inside the closet, they were surrounded by complete darkness, and all three of them began to feel a little bit scared, though none of them would admit it to the others.

Footsteps approached, and they huddled close to each other, becoming more and more scared with each passing moment. They heard a hand turn the doorknob and open the door. Elrohir screamed, and Elladan covered his brother's mouth with his hand. Legolas and the twins found themselves face-to-face with an older Elf.

The older Elf spoke first. "Pardon me, but what were you doing in there?" he asked. "I thought that the closet was for musical instruments, not young Elflings." He pulled out a flute and started to play.

"It is, but we were using it for something else," said Legolas. Despite the twins, he knew how to remain calm, and did as he knew best. The twins were both amused and annoyed with their friend.

"Alright," said the Elf. "But don't let Master Erestor catch you hiding there. Ever! He's really mad about the mess, so I wouldn't try to make it worse, if I were you." He left after warning them.

"Come on!" said Elladan to the others. "We should probably hide again before Erestor finds us." He lead Legolas and Elrohir to his and his brother's room. Once they got there, they closed and locked the door behind them.

"That was close," whispered Elrohir to Legolas. At this moment, all three Elflings heard a scream coming from the Great Hall. Only seconds later, there was a knock at the door.

"It is Elrond," said the voice sternly. "Can I come in?" Elladan opened the door to let their father inside. He did b not /b look pleased. In fact, he looked rather upset, but as soon as he saw the twins and Legolas getting along, his face softened. "I thought that I would never see the day," he said softly to himself. His eyes filled with tears and his vision got blurry. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Everything all right?" asked Glorfindel. He had come into the room right after Elrond. Elrond nodded. "I hope you don't mind that the twins found themselves a new friend."

"No," said Elrond. "I do not mind at all." He and Glorfindel left the twins and Legolas to their privacy, as the older Elves retired to the council room to talk for a long while.

center /center 

Epilogue:

Legolas had just arrived in Rivendell from a long journey, and the twins, pleased to see their friend, greeted him warmly. So much had changed since he had last visited, and the twins had much to tell him.

"Legolas!" cried Elladan. "Ada just fired Erestor!"

Though he was unsurprised at the news, he asked why Elrond had fired his chief counselor and asked the twins to tell him exactly what had happened.

"Ada said that he was too clean for us, and since Estel came along, then keeping this place clean has been nearly impossible. Erestor got really mad at Ada, and he fired him," added Elrohir. "Here, let's introduce you to Estel." He waved at the young human boy, who came over right away. /p 

ADD MORE! MAKE A PART TWO, A SEQUEL!


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